


Meet Me There

by ziraseal



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon Divergance, F/F, In Between Books 3 and 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-05-03
Packaged: 2018-06-04 19:24:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6672424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ziraseal/pseuds/ziraseal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You’re safe,” Kuvira assured, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “Do you remember anything from last night?”</p>
<p>“Getting attacked by Spirit Vines. Being found by a bunch of men and women in green uniforms. I remember… seeing an old friend of mine… I was hallucinating, wasn’t I?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wounded

 

“Great Uniter! We’ve found a woman!” one of the Sergeants bowed as he entered the room.

Kuvira looked up from her documents with a small smirk, “How many times do I have to tell you? I’d prefer if you and the rest of your company refer to me as Commander.”

“Yes, ma’am. But about the woman—”

“What about her?”

“She’s injured, ma’am,” the Sergeant frowned, his muscles twitching to run out of the compartment and assist the alleged individual. “We’re requesting permission to provide medical assistance to the woman in question.”

Kuvira took her reading glasses off, “Very well— we can bring her aboard. Did she look like an Earthbender to you?”

“She wore Earth Kingdom garb, but we speculate from her skin tone and eyes that she might be Water Tribe. Has a nasty scar running down her side and she’s burning up an awful fever. Shall we put her in the medical bay?”

Kuvira shook her head, “Bring her here, and lay her down on the desk— I’ll clear it off while you get her. We don’t want to put her near our patients if she’s sick or is carrying any fatal diseases.”

The Sergeant bowed in respect and walked out of the room, his arms pinned to his sides. The Twins walked in with wide eyes— not that Varrick and Bolin were related by blood in any way, but they hung out together so often that Kuvira and Baatar had taken to calling them that. At any rate, Bolin instantly became useful by helping her clear off the desk. Varrick, on the other hand, had taken a great interest in slouching in one of her chairs— kicking his feet up and snapping his fingers for Zhu Li to boil him tea.

“Did they say who this injured person was?” Bolin asked with wide puppy eyes.

Kuvira shook her head with a smile, “We’ll offer help to her and send her on her way, unless she wants to join us.”

Bolin nodded, neatly collecting a few documents and sliding them into a nearby filing cabinet. Kuvira had always adored the boy— thinking of him as a younger brother in some senses. More often than not, Varrick, Baatar, and herself had to stop the young Lavabender from being scammed in some street vendor scheme, or fighting against bandits while recounting Probending adventures. And in many ways, she connected to him— orphans always had a way of finding each other in the darkness, it seemed.

A few of her soldiers brought in a semi-conscious woman, her wounds bleeding all over their basil-green uniforms. She had short chestnut hair and beautiful dark skin, blue eyes hazily blinking around in confusion.

“Put her on the table,” a medic ordered, “We have to soak her clothes to remove them— the clotting blood has forced the fabric to stick to the lacerations.”

While the soldiers helped soak the injured woman, and the doctor began cutting strips of the fabric away— Kuvira put a gloved hand underneath the girl’s head so that she wouldn’t have to rest her skull on the cold, hard metal desk. Blue eyes stared into her own for a few moments before a soft groan escaped her lips.

“What did this?” Kuvira asked softly, reaching out and holding onto the woman’s hand.

The Metalbender may command an army, but she had a heart. She felt dark fingers faintly squeeze her own, a light pulse vibrating against her fingertips.

“Spirit Vines,” the woman coughed. “In the swamp.”

“I know that voice,” Bolin murmured from the other side of the room. “I fucking know that… Korra?!”

“Bo… is that you?”

Kuvira turned and glanced at the Lavabender, who rushed forwards and slightly pushed her out of the way to cradle the injured woman’s face. He laughed and smiled and cried as the doctors worked, sputtering out how much he missed this woman with a great deal of incoherency. The Metalbender felt as though she was in the way, taking a few steps back and giving this woman, this “Korra” some space.

Korra.

Korra…

Wait— wasn’t that the name of the Avatar?

The injured woman let out a sharp scream and the doctor’s voices grew tense as they tried to staunch the bleeding along her side. Kuvira jumped to her feet, her heart pounding in fear.

“What medicine do you need? What do we have that we can give her?!” the Metalbender questioned frantically.

_Why do I care? She’s not even Earth Kingdom._

One of the medics looked at her with stressed gray eyes, “We need penicillin, and fast.”

“We’re fresh out!” Varrick yawned, “Had to do some surgeries a few days ago that required a good knock out— the young gentleman slept for hours afterwards, let me tell you!”

Kuvira ignored him— self-proclaimed genius though he was, she didn’t need his craziness getting her all riled up. The former Zaofu guard bent her metal armor off of its stand and made to exit the office.

“Where are you going?” Bolin asked, wide eyed.

“To town— I’ll see if I can find you some more medication before we lose her,” the Metalbender nodded. “Keep her conscious, Bolin.”

The young Lavabender rushed back to his friend’s side and held Korra’s hand like a lifeline. Kuvira pushed her way past the guards that stood outside her door as protection against assassins (three attempts so far), and she stepped off the train; shuddering in the moonlight. She’d never cared much for superstition, but a Water Tribe native showing up on a full moon was usually a bad sign— especially when that native was an Avatar. One of their useful modes of transportation in her army was the use of motorcycles— Kuvira slinging her leg over the seat of one and turning it on.

The bike sped across the farmland— the light of the train fading away. Soon all she could see was what the headlight illuminated, and what the moon could reveal. She dodged potholes and weaved around a fallen log (promising herself to order some of the lower ranked soldiers to fix up the road before they left for the next state).

Kuvira pulled into town, greeted by smiling villagers that she’d been aiding for the past week or so. A few of the elderly women invited her in for tea; obviously wishing to host somewhat of a celebrity in their homes. She gently waved them off, knocking on the door of the apothecary until her knuckles grew sore.

“Do you have any idea what time it— Oh! Great Uniter! Forgive me!” an elderly gentleman apologized.

“Please, there’s a wounded woman on our train who desperately needs penicillin. Do you have something like that? Or even a substitute?”

“I have penicillin,” the old man sighed, beckoning her in. “It’s a little strong, but it should do the trick. Give your injured woman a good kick. Come, come… mustn’t dilly dally for the Great Uniter. Where did I put… I swear it was right here…”

Kuvira bounced up and down a little on her tippy toes. She’d grown accustomed to news reporters, paparazzi, and screaming fans. She was certainly more than conditioned to governors and the well-to-do of the Earth Kingdom. But her favorite part— what could never tire her— was always interacting with the peasants; the common people whom she’d been a member of during her childhood, before she met Suyin. Kuvira placed a small bag of yuans on the counter, even though she knew full well that the man did not expect payment from such a famous military leader. Her pressed a box of vials into her hands and bowed low, lower than governors or city leaders usually did. She smiled and gave his shoulder a firm squeeze— bowing back a little and whispering a thank you.

_Why do I care? She’s not even Earth Kingdom._

Wind pulled out a few strands of her military bun as she sped down the dirt road, back towards the train. Kuvira let the stinging, cold air draw a few tears out her eyes and blinked them away. Her bike bumped over a few more rocks, and before she knew it she’d parked next to her office-car.

“I have what you need,” she interrupted, bursting through the cabin door.

Never had she seen more relief on a human’s face than on the medic’s— and she’d cured a lot of desperation on her campaign. The soldiers took the vials away from her and injected small doses into the still groaning woman, who fell relaxed after a few moments.

“This will help us a great deal,” the medic sighed. “Thank you, Commander. You may have saved her life.”

“Sutures.”

“Gauze.”

“Can you clean that up?”

“Just be glad she’s not fighting you,” Bolin sighed, sitting down on a stool— but still holding the injured woman’s hand.

“What do you mean?” Kuvira asked.

“If she’s super-duper wounded like this, sometimes it can trigger the Avatar State— Korra’s probably holding back so that she doesn’t wreck our train,” the young Lavabender whispered in awe.

Kuvira watched as a medic cleaned up the long gashes on the woman’s side and stitched them up; the Avatar calmly unconscious as they worked. The Metalbender rubbed her chin in thought as she watched them work. Surely… surely helping out a being of such great power could boost ratings— and this woman would be in their debt, no?

“Alright, let’s get her to a bed,” one of the medics sighed.

“Put her in my room.”

“Are you sure, Commander?”

Kuvira nodded, “It would cause too much of a commotion to have her in the medical bay— I don’t want the soldiers distracted from their duties just because we have a celebrity on board.”

The doctors nodded, cleaning up their medical supplies. Varrick sauntered out of the room (some help he was) with Zhu Li in tow. Her boyfriend Baatar, who had silently been hanging out in the corner, gave Kuvira a small nod and went to find an empty officer’s cabin for the two of them to sleep in. Soon the only ones who remained were the guards posted outside her office, herself, a Lavabender, and this mysterious woman who Bolin claimed was the Avatar.

“Let’s carry her to my room,” Kuvira ordered softly.

Bolin eagerly lifted the injured woman, who let out a small yelp in her sleep. With Kuvira’s assistance, they gently carried her into the stateroom where the Commander usually slept— setting her down on the bed. Kuvira walked into the bathroom and grabbed a small glass, filling it with tap water and setting it down on the nightstand next to the bed.

“Can I stay with her?” Bolin asked. “I haven’t seen her in two years, and I want to greet her when she wakes up!”

Kuvira smiled— a rare occurrence— and shook her head, “You need to get some sleep. I will have someone come and get you when she wakes up.”

“What about you?”

“I can sleep in one of the chairs.”

Bolin looked downcast at the rejection, but he was smart enough to know when someone injured this heavily needed her space. The boy stood, pressing a kiss to Korra’s forehead before exiting the bedroom, and then Kuvira’s office.

The Great Uniter looked at the unconscious woman, who’s mouth was a little slack open as her chest rose and fell. Something stirred around in Kuvira’s stomach, and she quickly turned away— feeling as though she were disrespecting the Avatar somehow by watching her sleep.

_Why do I care? She’s not even Earth Kingdom._

Kuvira found that it didn’t matter that much to her.

 

____________________________________________________________

 

“Where am I?”

Kuvira slowly stirred at the voice, and a sharp pain shot through her neck. She let out a groan and rubbed her shoulder— sore from sleeping too hard in an awkward position. The Metalbender slowly stood and groggily shuffled over to the bedroom, where the injured woman from last night was sitting upright— fully awake and glancing around with panicked eyes.

“You’re safe,” Kuvira assured, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “Do you remember anything from last night?”

“Getting attacked by Spirit Vines. Being found by a bunch of men and women in green uniforms. I remember… seeing an old friend of mine… I was hallucinating, wasn’t I?”

“Not at all,” the Commander smiled.

“What do you mean?”

“Bolin would like to come in and see you, if you feel up to it.”

Korra’s eyes widened, “Bolin?! That wasn’t a hallucination? Yes! Yes, I’d love to see him!”

The older woman smiled, standing and pressing a button for an intercom— ordering her soldiers to go and fetch the boy. The Avatar had a grateful smile plastered on her face, but Kuvira could see something underneath; exhaustion. Darkness. This woman was weighed down by something, and the Metalbender couldn’t help but be intrigued by her.

“You were severely injured when my men found you,” Kuvira said, straightening her pose and letting her hands instinctively rest behind her back.

Korra’s head flopped back against the pillow, “Spirit Vines— or rather, the Swamp in general— are known to be aggressive when you mess with them. I saw some teenage punks attempt to carve up the vegetation and I warned them to stop, but by the time they actually listened to me, it was too late. I pushed them out of the way, and one of the Vines whipped me in the side.”

“The boys didn’t run for help?” Kuvira frowned.

The Avatar shrugged, wincing a little in pain, “Too scared, I suppose.”

Thundering steps echoed through the office as an overly enthusiastic man-child burst open the door yelling, “KORRA!!!” at the top of his lungs. Bolin gave the woman a bear hug, causing her to squirm a little from her wounds— but she hugged back with just as much ferocity. Kuvira felt her heart leap a small amount and smiled at the interaction.

“I missed you so much!” Bolin laughed, kissing the top of her head.

Korra smiled, “I missed you, too.”

There were tears in the Lavabender’s eyes, but Kuvira wasn’t exactly surprised— this was the boy that bawled every time they found an abandoned Cat-Owl on the side of the road, or wailed when he had to say goodbye to the local orphanages after stabilizing a town. Kuvira smirked and walked out of the bedroom, leaving the two friends to catch up. She decided to grab some breakfast for Korra, Bolin, and herself— walking down the passageways of the train until she found the galley.

“Mornin’ Kuvira!” the cook said, flashing her a toothless grin.

“Hey Ju-long,” she smiled back, “Mind whipping up something for me and two teens?”

“Sure thing, Commander. I already got a dish going— wait just one second,” the cook chuckled, saluting her with his spatula.

She sat down at one of the booths, awaiting the meal while the cook tossed a few ingredients around in a pan. It smelled terrific— although a powerful aroma of seaweed wafted towards her, and she tensed up in discomfort; Water Tribe food never settled well in her stomach. It mattered little to Ju-long, who cooked whatever the hell he felt like, no matter if the troops ate it or not.

Eventually, he slid a tray of delicacies towards her, bowing a little and giving her a wink. She floated the metal effortlessly in front of her as she walked back towards the cabin. Opening the door, Kuvira nearly burst out into laughter— Bolin was lying in the bed next to the injured girl, merely twiddling his thumbs and staring at the ceiling with her. It was clear that they were having an emotional pow wow, but the smell of food perked the two youngsters right up.

“Smells amazing,” Korra smiled gratefully.

Kuvira had the funny feeling that the Avatar hadn’t acquired much in the way of fancy cuisine, traveling across the Earth Kingdom in poverty as she did.

“Mmmm! Krrraaa!” Bolin grinned with a full mouth of food, “Thith ith amafing! Mmph! You should try it!”

Flashing her a sympathetic glance, the Metalbender sat down on the edge of the bed and grabbed a spring roll, dipping it in a spice peanut sauce. Korra had one of the sushi wraps— sitting cross legged despite her injury and taking great care not to spill any raw fish on the bed. Not that Kuvira cared; for one, she hardly slept in it (often resorting to slumping against the desk after long days). And for another, she could have Zhu Li change the sheets (and practically clean the entire room) within thirty seconds.

“This is really good,” the Avatar nodded. “I haven’t earned enough money in the past few weeks for fresh groceries.”

“What… where did you work?” Kuvira asked.

Korra’s face fell— darkened, more like. She took another cautious bite and frowned, “Cage fights.”

“I hate those,” Kuvira sighed. “It’s just a system to milk all the value out of starving young teenagers who can’t find any other work. Earthbenders ought to put their talents to use— helping out each other rather than making a pitiful amount of yuans in exchange for three broken ribs.”

Both Bolin and Korra remained silent, and the Metalbender realized that she may have touched a nerve— remembering the young Lavabender’s heroic Probending stories.

“Forgive me,” she scowled, “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

Bolin waved a hand in nonchalance, “It’s nothing! Besides, you’re right about those starving kids needing better jobs— it’s why our recruitment has been out of this world recently!”

“I know it’s… it’s not really in my place to say,” Korra bit her lip, “but if you want to remove those Cage Fights… you’re going to want to head back into town tonight. There’s a big match taking place— I was planning on going, but… well… you know what happened.”

Kuvira smiled, taking another bite of her wrap and nodding.

“Will you come with me? Show me where it is?”

The Avatar’s striking blue eyes pierced her own for a few minutes before Korra smiled, “Anything for my great and noble rescuer.”

“Hah, hah, hah,” Kuvira groaned, standing up and flecking a piece of rice into the younger girl’s forehead. “Well then, we’ll leave after dinner. Why don’t you get some rest— have Bolin call the doctors if you’re in any more pain.”

“Thanks, Great Uniter,” the Avatar grinned, flashing her a thumbs up.

For some reason, her hand resting on the doorway, she wanted more than anything to turn around and tell Korra to call her “Kuvira” instead. But the desire floated away, and instead she wandered down the hallway in search of her boyfriend; never once considering that her destiny had changed. Greatly so, in fact.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place about two years after the Red Lotus attack, in a universe where Korra left earlier and is still recovering. This is before Kuvira went all power mad-- she, Bolin, Varrick, and Baatar are all still good friends just trying to help out people. We'll see where it goes from there :D


	2. Cage Fights

 

“Hold on… hold on… I need a minute…” she groaned, leaning up against an alley wall.

“What’s wrong?” the Great Uniter asked.

Korra felt a searing pain all down her side— pressing her hand to her stomach and taking a few deep breaths. Without warning (or permission), the Metalbender lifted the hem of the younger woman’s shirt; her eyes frowning when she saw a small amount of blood trickling down.

“One of your stitches came out,” Kuvira observed.

Korra closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “When we get back to the train, get me a bowl of water and I can Waterbend it myself.”

“You have healing powers?”

“Taught by Master Katara herself,” the Avatar smiled fondly. “She’s been… a lot of help recently… and I haven’t been the best patient…”

Kuvira didn’t note the drop in Korra’s mood, reaching into a side pouch that she kept on her person at all time (they went undercover, though, so the Commander lacked her usual green metal-covered uniform). The older woman pulled out a small menstrual pad and some curad tape; Korra raised one of her eye brows and glanced at the Great Uniter with skepticism.

“A pad? Really?”

“It’s designed to keep blood from running its course,” Kuvira sighed, with a roll of her eyes. “Apply enough pressure and it’s pretty much a gauze bandage. Hold still.”

Korra felt her stomach twitch a little when the Commander pulled off her gloves and cautiously applied the pad to the wound— taking great care not to cause any more damage than what had already transpired. She wasn’t sure if the electricity running through her abdomen was from the pain of the wound or the ghostly touch of Kuvira’s fingers. Korra bit her lip and looked anywhere but at the older woman’s green eyes, focused on her stomach.

“There… does that feel better?”

“Don’t mother me, I’ll go into the Avatar State and kick your ass,” Korra threatened with a grimace.

Kuvira raised an eyebrow, “Well, if that’s a challenge— I’d certainly love to spar sometime…”

The younger girl quickly waved the jeer off, pretending that she couldn’t be trifled with such nonsense… rather than the truth; the reality that she still couldn’t enter the Avatar State two years after Zaheer’s attack. Korra ignored the conversation and steeled herself to keep walking. Kuvira walked behind with a stoic, professional pace— her hands instinctively behind her back as she followed the Avatar to the cage fights.

People filed into the warehouse stadium like sheep into a corral. Kuvira paid a few yuans for both their entries and ushered Korra over to a dark, shadowy seating area— where the Great Uniter’s recognizable face could not be so easily spotted.

“What is your plan?” Korra asked with curiosity.

The Metalbender took a deep breath, “I want to find out who’s running this dog pit and give him something to think about.”

“Threaten him? I’m not so sure we should…”

An announcer jumped into the middle of the ring; the spotlights trained on him as the audience began cheering.

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!! WELCOME TO THE _SLASH AND SMASH_ — THE GREATEST CAGE FIGHTS YOU’LL SEE ON THE EASTERN SIDE OF THE EARTH KINGDOM!! ARE YOU READY TO WATCH TWO EARTHBENDERS GO HEAD TO HEAD?!”

The crowd roared.

“I CAN’T HEAR YOU!!”

Thunderous cheers shook the warehouse, rattling Korra’s heart around in her chest. She drew her knees up close to her stomach and tried to quell the anxiety building up in her bloodstreams and lungs. Kuvira put a steady hand on her shoulder (Korra ignored the comforting warmth the Metalbender’s fingers radiated);

“Are you okay?”

Korra shook her head, “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

A bell rang and suddenly the cage pit was filled with a cloud of dust; Korra admired the tactic that the female Earthbender was using— fighting with elusive Sandbending rather than hurling clunky, slow boulders like her opponent. The ragged, ratty-looking middle-aged man she was fighting sent huge chunks of rock flying towards her head, but the female Earthbender merely let them break apart against the wall behind her. She utilized the smaller chunks to stealthily cover the ground around his feet with pebbles. When he wasn’t paying attention— after he sent three more large boulders towards her face— the female Earthbender solidified the pebbles around his feet; they encased his legs and she sent him flying up towards the chain-link ceiling for a few seconds, and then crashing down to the floor.

“She’s good,” Kuvira whistled.

Korra silently agreed; watching the middle-aged man groan for a few seconds before slumping face-first down into the dirt. The bell rang and the crowd erupted into applause and cheers. The announcer proudly held the woman’s hand up in the air and gave her a huge pouch of gold.

“How many of these are we watching?” the Avatar asked.

Kuvira scanned the audience— from fans to security guards to loiterers standing around— and let out a small, almost undetectable huff, “As soon as I figure out who the ring-leader is.”

Leaning back, the younger girl crossed her arms over her chest and frowned; desperately attempting to ignore the thunderous screaming of the crowd as she watched a few lackeys carry the injured male Earthbender out of the pit.

“FOR OUR NEXT MATCH— WHO’S READY TO MEET OUR NEWEST CONTESTANT?!”

Korra could feel her bones rattle as the walls behind her and the seat beneath her legs shook from the fans’ excitement.

“WELL HERE HE IS— HE MAY BE SMALL, BUT BOY IS HE FAST!! MEET THE BUZZARD-WASP!!”

A small child stepped into the ring, and both women tensed up; looking at each other in fear. The contestant was just a kid? That was so fucking wrong!

His opponent— a large, snarling muscular woman simply dubbed “The Beast”— jumped into the ring after being introduced by the announcer. Judging by the roars of the crowd; she was the favorable pick. Korra felt a little sick as the ten-year-old boy took off his coat and tossed it to the side. And then he lowered into a stance that was most certainly not Earthbending.

“Wait a minute…” Korra’s eyes widened, beginning to realize the truth.

Huge slabs ripped from the ground as The Beast attempted to flatten the little boy; clearly having no qualms over hurting a child for a few yuans. The Buzzard Wasp excelled at dodging— though Korra knew perfectly well why— and he took great care to obtain the higher ground.

“What’s he doing?” Kuvira asked, “I don’t feel him Earthbending at all.”

“That’s because he’s no Earthbender…”

Kuvira scowled, looking back at the boy— who merely laughed as he jumped up the cage. The crowd seemed to love his bizarre behavior, but The Beast merely continued sending boulder after boulder towards him; probably hoping to knock the poor kid off the ceiling of the cage. More than once, a rock crashed into a pipe next to the Buzzard Wasp; nearly crushing the boy’s fingers as he tried to climb. But each time, he regained his grip and continued scurrying around on the cage.

The Beast let out a laugh, “Come on down, little spider— or I’ll make you come down!!”

“Go ahead and try!” the boy yelped.

Korra tensed up in fear as a huge boulder the size of a Satomobile hurled towards the child; but she could detect the swirling air that had been building up for the past few moments— even if the spectators and The Beast couldn’t. A powerful gust slowed the boulder down, and with a growl the boy let another strong puff of wind shoot from his feet until the rock flew back at The Beast. It knocked her off guard, sending the woman flying towards the wall. The boy jumped down, earning a cry of surprise from the crowd (who hadn’t even realized that he’d been using a completely different element), and used air to levitate boulders— sending them into The Beast’s stomach until she slumped to the ground… knocked out cold…

“Spirits,” Korra muttered.

The crowd went wild and the announcer gave the boy a bag of yuans— a smaller bag than the previous champion had won. Kuvira leaned back and folded her arms across her chest; still trying to figure out who the ringleader was, but the Avatar had a different plan.

“Come on,” she muttered, tugging on the older woman’s wrist.

She led the Metalbender to the back alley— where she knew a door would lead from the training room of the warehouse. Sure enough, the Buzzard-Wasp was sitting on a trash can, counting out his yuans with a scowl. He had dark skin and black hair, and his eyes were a strange combination of blue and silver.

“Pretty good Earthbending, champ,” Korra smiled, lighting up the alley with a small ball of fire.

The boy tensed and held his bag close to his stomach, “Who are you?!”

“Relax, kid,” Kuvira held up a hand.

Korra sat down against the opposite wall, not caring about the filth after the past few months of traveling. She thought about the situation carefully for a few moments, and then raised her free hand to Airbend a small cyclone. The boy’s eyes widened.

“You’re an Airbender? And a Firebender?”

She smirked, “Yep.”

“Oh…. Ooooohhh!! You’re the Avatar!” he whispered in acknowledgement.

“And you’re an Airbender who pretends to be an Earthbender?” Kuvira asked, “That doesn’t seem like a fair fight.”

“Fair for whom?” the boy smirked, passing the bag of money back and forth between his hands.

“Why didn’t you go with Master Tenzin two years ago?” Korra frowned.

He shrugged, “I didn’t want to. And I figured out how to do it on my own. This job pays me pretty well.”

“You’re being scammed.”

“What?”

Korra pointed at his bag of yuans, “They’re paying you a third of the winnings because you’re just a kid. Where are your parents, anyways? Surely they wouldn’t be okay with this.”

“Dad died in a mining accident when I was three, and my Mom was taken away for being a Waterbender a few weeks ago.”

“Taken away for being— by who?” Korra asked, starting to get angry.

She didn’t notice Kuvira tense up.

The Buzzard Wasp shrugged, “By some Earthbenders. I’ve been fighting to earn some money for food.”

“How about you come on back to our train? We can feed you and you don’t have to spend your earnings on dinner tonight,” the Metalbender offered, shifting from foot to foot nervously.

“Your train?”

“I’m Kuvira,” she introduced carefully.

Korra didn’t understand her hesitancy, but she agreed with the Commander’s offer to feed the kid. The Buzzard Wasp thought about it for a few moments, and then hopped off the trash can.

“My name is Chiko,” he smiled a little.

Korra took her jacket off and wrapped it around his shoulders, “Here— you’re going to get cold after working out like that.”

“How do you know?”

“Basic metabolism,” she smiled. “The White Lotus made sure I was a little fitness nut.”

They’d taken a jeep into town— Kuvira hopped in and started up the engine. Chiko jumped in with an excited blast of air, and Korra opened the door and slowly climbed onto the seat; pressing her hand up against the pad that Kuvira had taped on earlier. The jeep drove over potholes and rocks in the road, bumping the trio around as they made their way towards the train.

“Sergeant, please send some food to my cabin,” Kuvira smiled, as an officer bowed before her.

A hand on Chiko’s shoulder, Korra led the boy up the steps— sitting down at a chair with a groan when she felt her stomach flare up in pain.

“Can you get me a bowl of water?” she grimaced.

The boy quickly sped over and riled through Kuvira’s filing cabinets in search of a dish. The Great Uniter laughed and picked him up— setting the Airbender on top of the desk. She opened a small cupboard next to a sink and filled a small bowl, gently handing it to Korra to heal herself. Kuvira then spoke to her guards outside and reappeared in the office.

“I’m having some of my soldiers look through our supplies for clothes— for the both of you,” she added, nodding at Korra (who made a face at her), “Do you want to take a bath before dinner, Chiko? I have a tub connected to my bedroom.”

The boy smiled a little, and Korra began to realize just how much dirt he was covered in; not only from living on the streets, but no doubt simultaneously collected from cage fights. A pair of guards came in a few minutes later with two changes of clean clothes— one adult size and one child size set. Kuvira set the larger clothes on the table next to Korra, and then kneeled down to Chiko— allowing the boy to feel the fabric.

“This is really soft,” he said in awe.

“It’s yours to keep. Why don’t you go get cleaned up? There are fresh towels on the rack and plenty of soap to get all that dirt off. We’ll wait out here,” Kuvira said with a kind, warm smile.

Eagerly, Chiko scrambled through the bedroom Korra had slept in last night and locked the door behind him. No sooner had the boy turned on the faucet and jumped into the hot water that the two women began to hear him singing. Kuvira looked at Korra and laughed out loud; the Avatar felt her heart skip at the melodic sound.

“You go put some fresh clothes on yourself,” the Metalbender commanded jokingly, “I can tell you walked through the Si Wong in that outfit!”

Korra took a little water from the bowl and splashed it at the Great Uniter, who merely rolled her eyes and cleared off a table to eat at. The Avatar walked into the bedroom (making sure that Chiko wasn’t going to burst out of the bathroom), and began changing clothes. It felt absolutely wonderful to wear something so soft and fresh… and Korra almost let her eyelids droop asleep from such comfort, but instead took out a hairband and tied back what little she hadn’t chopped off.

 

__________________________________________________________

 

Once Korra and Chiko were out of earshot, Kuvira walked down the hallway of the train and knocked on Baatar’s door. Her boyfriend’s short black hair cut was untidy and his glasses were a little askew— making him look positively adorable in the dim light.

“Hey there,” he smiled, giving her a small kiss. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and leaned into his lips; sighing through her nose a little and threading her fingers through his.

“Sweetie… I need a favor of you.”

“Sure. Anything,” Baatar nodded.

Kuvira took a deep breath and let out a sigh, “I need you to find a Waterbending woman in one of our work camps— she came from the local town. She needs to be released.”

 _If I had known that this was what I would cause when I created those camps_ … she thought with a frown. _It’s too late to disassemble them… but perhaps I should reconsider putting people in there… I forced that kid into fucking Cage Fights because I took his mother away…_

Baatar sleepily rubbed his eyes and gave her another kiss, “I’ll radio Camp Abha in the morning, okay?”

“Thank you,” she smiled, bringing him in for a hug.

She left the embrace feeling a little empty, a sense that she did not usually encounter. Kuvira shook it off and returned to the room, finding Korra staring at some of her official documents— thankfully nothing too incriminating.

“You re-stabilized Ba Sing Se in only six months?” Korra asked in wonder.

The new, clean clothes fit the younger woman beautifully, draping over muscles and hugging just the right curves… Kuvira blinked and the thought scampered out of her head. She nodded humbly and showed the Avatar a map of the Earth Kingdom.

“We’ve managed to assist all along this section— we have about fifteen more states to go before we can properly form a new government and put Prince Wu on the throne,” Kuvira nodded.

 _As if_ , she thought with a frown. _That man child is just like his Great-Aunt… all that work will be for nothing… all those people will just starve and die again…_

“What’s he like?”

“Horrible,” Kuvira admitted honestly. “I hate the monarchy setup— birthright shouldn’t entitle you to rule a nation, only to neglect it for your garden when you get tired of responsibilities.”

Korra frowned, “I… had a bad relationship with Hou Ting… but I wish I’d been able to stop Zaheer from assassinating her.”

“At least the errors of her rule can be— and are being— corrected by us.”

Their conversation was interrupted by the bathroom door opening. The little Airbender looked absolutely adorable with his brown hair sticking in every direction— though several shades lighter now that he’d washed the dust and filth out of it. His face beamed with happiness and he bowed respectfully before Kuvira.

“Thank you for the clothes!”

“Our pleasure,” Kuvira smiled, “You’re a fantastic Airbender— you shouldn’t let that go to waste in a cage.”

A few ensigns carried in plates of food— and Kuvira rolled her eyes when she realized that Varrick had invited himself in, along with a slightly nervous Bolin and a sleepy Baatar. They all sat down, hardly looking at Chiko, as they all began to eat. The Metalbender watched as the boy hesitantly picked at the food for a few moments, and then began devouring a chicken leg.

“Airbenders usually tend to be vegetarian,” Korra frowned.

Chiko shrugged, “I didn’t join the Temple people, I shouldn’t have to follow their rules.”

“I suppose that’s fair… you live your life how you want,” the Avatar nodded.

Before Kuvira knew it, Bolin had spilled juice all over the ratty outfit that she’d worn to the village, Varrick had already come up with a “genius” idea for an invention just from looking at a bowl of noodles, Baatar had fallen asleep from exhaustion (his cheek pressed into his chopsticks), and Korra had another stitch come out from laughing so hard— quickly rushing to the bathroom to heal herself again.

Kuvira smiled and leaned back in her chair, sipping on a cup of tea and smiling to herself.

It felt… almost like a family meal…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave comments!


	3. Leather Jackets and Canyon Crawlers

 

“I have some good news,” Baatar smiled.

“Oh?”

“About the woman you were trying to locate.”

“Did you find her?”

“Yes. Camp Abha found a Waterbender who matched your description— do you want me to go pick her up?” her boyfriend smiled.

Kuvira bit her lip, feeling absolutely horrible about the situation, “Yes. I made a horrible mistake.”

“What do you mean?” the engineer asked, pulling her close.

She let her forehead rest on his shoulder— letting eyelids shed tears and lungs take shaky breaths. Baatar wrapped his arms around her… but the gesture felt solid and cold rather than warm and enveloping.

“I shouldn’t have created those camps.”

“But they’re what this nation needs— we have to be a unified people. We have to be one entity in order to work,” Baatar argued.

Kuvira sighed, “I think they’re doing more harm than good.”

“Tell you what, I’m going to go get that woman for you,” Baatar whispered, his voice soothing her nerves a fraction, “and then I’m going to do a formal inspection of the facilities— and I’ll make sure we’re treating all of our ‘relocates’ in the most humane possible approach. If I see anything out of league, I’ll have the Camp rehabilitated. Does that sound like a good start?”

_Of course, but why does it sound worrying coming from your lips?_

Instead of protesting, Kuvira nodded, “That might put me at ease.”

“All right,” Baatar smiled. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

His lips pressed against her own, and the exchange felt all too forced for two individuals that had been dating for a little over a year now. Kuvira drew back and gave him a shy smile before exiting the cabin that Baatar slept and designed in. Her smile fell, and she couldn’t possibly fathom why… though she supposed she had felt her heart recently growing distant from Baatar’s affections.

Was it the sex? No… no, not at all. As a matter of fact, she found him a rather pleasant experience in bed. It wasn’t even a matter of compensation; Baatar just knew what she desired. All the same, some sort of passion felt absent in their lovemaking. Perhaps it was that most of the time Baatar took sex slow and gently— not that there isn’t a time and place for compassionate and quiet sex. But just once— just once!! Just once she would like to be pushed up against the wall and dominated. Just once she would enjoy fury, lust, and craving— bite marks and adrenaline— rather than the slow kisses and gentle caresses that Baatar was fond of. Maybe it was the sex.

Or perhaps the problem was a lack of emotional stimulation? He took her out on pleasing dates, and paid for dinners with money he had earned from the Campaign— rather than the Beifong wealth that he could’ve utilized. She did appreciate that he made himself more than just about money… but the dates did tend to be boring, didn’t they? Junior lacked originality, to be perfectly blunt, and she could be easily swayed to do something besides a dinner and a mover every single Saturday night.

_I shouldn’t think about him like this, Baatar’s shown me nothing but kindness._

Instead of continuing to fret over such trifling nonsense, the Commander walked down the hallway towards the Officer’s Club— where she knew she’d find Bolin and Korra. Indeed, the two best friends were sitting together… was Korra using the train’s phone?

“I miss you too… I’m so sorry that I didn’t write back, I’ve missed out on so much of your guy’s lives…” the Avatar sighed in a defeated voice, her free hand wiping away tears as Bolin caringly rubbed her back. After a moment’s pause, she laughed, “Babysitting Wu sounds like a nightmare— tell the Prince that the Avatar orders you to take a night off. I love you too, Mako. Goodbye.”

“Communications?” Kuvira asked nonchalantly, searching through the ice box for something to drink, and deciding on a bottle of leechee juice.

“I convinced her to at least give Mako and Asami calls,” Bolin explained with a sad twinkle in his eye.

The dark circles above the Avatar’s cheeks worried Kuvira, and instead of drinking her bottle of juice, she put a hand on Korra’s shoulder. The younger girl’s smooth dark skin felt almost icy to the touch, and the Metalbender couldn’t help but wonder if that was a trait of Water Tribe dwellers.

“Would you like to get some fresh air and talk?” the Commander asked softly.

Korra looked at her for maybe three seconds before smiling faintly, “Sure. Let me grab my coat.”

“That pile of rags? No, no, no— we can go through my closet and find something that won’t fall apart thirty seconds before you put it on,” Kuvira laughed.

The Avatar rolled her eyes but stood nonetheless, giving Bolin a kiss on the top of his head. He mentioned something about going to go keep Chiko entertained and took the doorway towards where Kuvira had set some sleeping quarters for the young Airbender. She set her unopened bottle of juice back into the ice box and guided Korra through the narrow hallways of the train until they walked into the office.

“How cold is it outside?” she asked a guard.

Korra gave an amused chuckle, “It doesn’t really matter— I can regulate my body temperature.”

“I’m still giving you a coat, Avatar.”

Kuvira searched through the closet of clothes she would wear if she ever wanted to visit a village undercover— say go to a bar for drinks with Varrick and Bolin, or perhaps do a little shopping at a farmer’s market. She found a light brown leather jacket and took it off the rack. Korra stepped forwards and felt the material with awe.

“This is nice.”

“A gift from a farmer— I help cure his flock of Canyon Crawlers from arsenic poisoning.”

“Canyon Crawlers? That sounds made up,” Korra teased.

Kuvira shook her head, “It was a fucking nightmare— they’d gotten aggressive from the toxicity, which they’d received from water poisoning, and had managed to break loose from their pens. Varrick managed to create a neurotoxin… erm… based on what the Red Lotus had used against you… anyways, we used it on the overgrown bugs and while they were knocked out I had some of my finest Metalbenders remove the arsenic.”

“Wow,” Korra smiled in awe, “And you got a leather jacket?”

“Among other treasures from the town,” Kuvira nodded, “It was traditional in that particular state to bestow an article of clothing as a tribute of gratitude. This belonged to that particular farmer.”

Korra shrugged on the leather jacket and followed Kuvira out of the cabin and down a metal ladder, onto the ground. Kuvira let her boots momentarily dig into the earth for a moment, smiling at the feeling of her element before leading the Avatar up a trail. The flora surrounding them had bloomed into an array of beautiful colors, and the older woman found her fingers lightly tracing over flower petals as she walked by (her gloves left on Baatar’s nightstand).

“So what could a farmer possibly use Canyon Crawlers for?” Korra amusedly asked as they stepped over a large cluster of branches and took a left turn.

Kuvira shrugged, “Digging. Earthbending is all well and good, but if you own a fifteen-acre farm and your town is primarily compiled of Nonbenders, it helps to have a few animals that can do the job for you. Plus, you can ride them around, and they don’t require a lot of maintenance. But you have to keep your food locked up, or else they’ll tear through your house.”

“Okay, but if they can dig, how did he keep them from escaping?”

“He had metal plates installed underneath the pens that he kept them in— and they were actually reasonably trained. But the arsenic messed with their heads and caused them to go insane while he was using them for plowing— and they broke free.”

“And you just happened to be in town that day?”

“No— I ran across Master Jinora, who asked for my help. She gave me a lift with her Cloud-Buffalo.”

“Sky-Bison,” Korra laughed.

“Oh, whatever.”

The Metalbender couldn’t resist grinning, though.

She led the younger girl up a small mountain ridge, the two of them jumping up the sides of the cliff with Earthbending. Kuvira couldn’t help but notice that Korra seemed to be working up a sweat from such easy bending. Stopping on a ledge, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to sense all earth and metal around her.

Metal.

Not just any metal.

Kuvira could feel _mercury_ , at least some small trace of it.

A gasp escaped her mouth, but Korra couldn’t hear it— too busy trying to use Airbending to sling herself over the edge of the craggy rocks. The Commander quickly caught up, propelling herself dangerously high and reaching out to catch a vine. It swung her down and she ended up colliding into Korra— who let out a musical laugh as they tumbled through the grass and rolled into a small stream.

“Straight shooting,” the Avatar joked, pulling the water out of their clothes and hair.

“Sorry… vines aren’t the same as metal cables.”

“You don’t seem to use those in your army?” Korra noted.

She shrugged, “There’s not much need, and unlike in the city we’re working out in the countryside. Dirt roads and rice paddy fields don’t provide much utilization for cables, whereas you can use small metal strips to disable and blind opponents pretty much anywhere.”

“Can you teach me?”

She sounded so enthusiastic, and Kuvira felt her heart skip a little. She grinned a little;

“Would you join my army?”

Korra stood and pulled Kuvira to her feet, and then walking towards what would soon be a beautiful sunset. She sat down on a log and let her shoulders fall.

“It should’ve been me.”

“What?” Kuvira asked, her eyebrow raised in confusion.

“I should be the one fixing things, not you.”

The Commander sat down on the log beside her and folded her arms, propping her elbows on her knees. She bit her lip and flashed a glance at Korra’s cerulean eyes— which were tear-ridden, the little saltwater drops rolling down the Avatar’s cheeks.

She shook her head, “It’s our nation’s job to pull itself up.”

“I feel so useless,” Korra sighed, kicking a rock off the cliff. “I can’t even go into the fucking Avatar State, and here you are saving everyone’s life.”

The sun began to drop lower and lower— threatening to disappear behind mountains that signified the border of the United Republic. Kuvira let a small shaky breath escape through her nose and felt her nails digging into the dead bark of the log.

“What’s done is done. You had to recover, and I wanted to help my people. You can still help me, and I would be grateful, Korra, if you joined.”

“I… I can’t. I’m not ready to come back as the Avatar. Besides, I have to be a neutral force— I can’t just go picking sides.”

“There are no sides— there’s only doing the right thing or letting innocent people suffer,” Kuvira pointed out.

_Says the woman who’s keeping innocent people in work camps for their ethnicity._

Kuvira felt a headache throb her skull— one that had been growing ever since she’d found out about Chiko and his mother’s fate by her own hands. She took a deep breath and glanced at Korra. The younger girl’s eyes were trained on the dirt, a frown painted on her face.

“Can I… can I just stay on the train for a little while? Make up my mind first?” she asked.

Kuvira chuckled, “Of course. I think Bolin would like that.”

Finally. She finally saw the beginnings of a genuine, unforced smirk on the Avatar’s face. Her lungs instinctively took a breath for air, and it wasn’t until the oxygen flowed back into her head that Kuvira realized the smallest of Korra’s smiles could knock the wind out of her.

Her face slowly turned, at a snail’s crawl. She tried to keep her eyes on Korra’s (which were still focused on the ground), but they began to creep down the other girl’s face. The bridge of her sharp nose and angles of a clenched jaw… if Kuvira looked hard enough she could see a few faint, parallel scars on the girl’s left cheekbone. She stared at lips that had likely never seen any sort of makeup before, and yet the Metalbender could not possibly imagine any sort of color in the place of a shade she could only describe as carob or mocha. She’d never seen such an enticing tone.

Awareness filled her, that Korra’s head was slowly turning towards her own. That, millimeter by _painstaking_ millimeter, the Avatar’s eyes were beginning to raise from the ground— climbing up Kuvira’s uniform… her neck… her jaw… the Metalbender’s lips. Their mouths, for a long moment, hovered an inch apart. Kuvira could feel a small puff of air against her own mouth… her brain registering how cold the younger girl’s breath was.

And then Kuvira leaned in.

Wonderful; the only word she would ever want to describe this moment with. Kuvira’s eyes closed and she took a deep breath, inhaling a natural scent of cedar. She remembered Korra mentioning that she spent the past six months sleeping out in the forest, and yet the smell was anything but filthy. It was merely that sweet smell of evergreen trees that Kuvira had always enjoyed— on those brief days during the year that she could leave Zaofu and escort the Beifongs on a camping trip.

Korra pushed up against Kuvira, her lips demanding more of the Metalbender. Their hands remained to themselves— the exchange purely one of mouth. No nipping, nor biting. Just lips moving and sliding against each other.

She took in a deep breath and let her tongue dip into Korra’s mouth slightly—

_Baatar._

His face flashed through Kuvira’s mind as quick as a bolt of lightning striking a lone tree in a grassy field during a stormy afternoon.

She ripped herself away from Korra’s mouth, feeling her heart fall into a blender and tear apart. The Metalbender stood, awkwardly scrambling as she jogged away from the fallen log.

“Kuvira? Kuvira, wait!”

The Commander could hear huffs of air, in and out through her lungs, as she ran back towards the cliff that they’d climbed up. Her hands with both a frightened and angry tremble bent the rocks into a perfectly smooth ramp that she slid down— a hundred feet that her feet easily skated down.

Her guards stood at attention when she found herself at the bottom of the cliff, and turning back she could see Korra— all the way up there and out of reach. Kuvira waved her staff at ease and they went back to guarding, or lounging about; since it was a weeknight and she’d given them permission to relax a little. She disappeared into the cabin where her office was located, ordering her personal sentries that she didn’t wish to be disturbed.

Kuvira stumbled into the bedroom and shed her uniform— flicking the metal faucet and falling to the bed as water began to rush into the tub. She let a scream out into the pillow for a good ten seconds.

 

__________________________________________________________

 

 

A knock on the door startled her, making her look away from her blank stare towards the wall. She stood and walked towards the door, an aura of elegance masking the turmoil that stirred her up inside. When she opened the door, she realized that the silhouette she was staring at was about nine feet tall.

“What?”

“BOO!”

Kuvira blinked, and realized that the shape was, in fact, a sheet thrown over two people. She reached out with a small smile and pulled the sheet off— revealing Chiko sitting on Bolin’s shoulders.

“Did we scare you?” the Lavabender asked hopefully.

Kuvira playfully rolled her eyes, “A little.”

“Great! Come on, Chiko, let’s go scare Varrick!”

“Okay!”

The Metalbender laughed a little as she watched the two of them stumble through the hallway— the bedsheet blocking Bolin’s vision as Chiko attempted to throw it back over them. She tapped her foot on the floor, revealing the pair of rascals sneaking up to the inventor’s door. As soon as she shut the entrance to her own office, she could hear a dastardly scream from down the hallway and began laughing. Bolin was always there to make the sun shine again.

Another knock at the door.

“I’m not going to fall for that again, Bolin!” she smirked.

Footsteps quickly scampered away, and Kuvira paused. Ever so slowly, she stood and walked over to the door, opening it and looking around. No one was there— a faint moonlight streaming in from the train’s skylights. Kuvira took a step forwards to search down the hallway and felt something soft beneath her foot. She looked down.

Even in the darkness, she could make out the silhouette of the brown leather jacket that she’d lent Korra. Kuvira bent down and gently picked it up, letting the cracked fabric catch on her finger tips. The Metalbender closed the door with a sigh, realizing that its borrower was not to be found in the hallway. She turned and sat down at the comfy armchair that she’d been sitting in earlier, her fingers running over the seams and stitches. Without thinking about it, Kuvira drew the fabric close to her nose, turning it a little inside out and breathing in. That same cedar smell was still there, the memory of the kiss flooding through Kuvira’s head and racking her heart with guilt.

Kuvira pressed a small kiss to the jacket, setting it down on the table and wandering into her bedroom, feeling all sorts of turmoils and conflicts inside— and deciding to get a good night’s sleep to clear her head up.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave comments!


	4. Governor Jiana

 

Baatar had not returned the next morning, and Kuvira worried that something might have happened at Camp Abha— but none of the officers had received any radioed emergencies, so she had no cause to suspect negativity. Kuvira sat down at her desk and allowed her forehead to rest on the smooth wood, her cheek pressing into a stack of documents. Her fingers raised and pressed into the back of her head, threading through her military bun and unraveling parts of it.

Someone burst through the door, and Kuvira took a deep breath, composing herself and looking up— not as Kuvira, but as the Great Uniter. Little good that it did; none other than Varrick sat across her and kicked his feet up onto her desk.

“What is it?” she sighed, letting out that composed breath.

“I gotta tell you, kid, you look like shit!” he smirked, as Zhu Li poured a cup of tea for them both, “You gotta try my evening callisthenic routine. Keeps you feeling crisp, doesn’t it, Zhu Li?”

“Yes sir.”

“What can I help you with?” Kuvira bluntly interrupted.

Varrick took a sip of tea before speaking, “Oh, that’s a horrible brew! Reminds me of the time I went trekking through the Western Air Temple in the Fire Nation— I tried a bag of brew that I found hidden in an urn, and I was as sick as a Polar-Bear-Dog for a month!”

“Get on with it.”

“Right! I need clearance to begin designing that Spirit Vine technology we were talking about!” Varrick exclaimed excitedly. “Your officers won’t carve up anything from the Swamp without your permission. Do I get your authorization?”

“No.”

The image of Korra screaming in pain from the Spirit Vine wounds seared in her head— how could she do that to her soldiers?

“No?” Varrick asked with a bemused smile, his hands resting casually behind his head.

“You heard me.”

The ex-industrialist frowned at her, standing and walking out of the room without a word. She understood perfectly why; not two weeks ago she had been rather persistent about developing some sort of technology with a resource just waiting to be harvested. But… now that she’d met Korra, she wasn’t so sure. Now that she’d met Chiko, she wasn’t so sure.

Zhu Li flashed Kuvira a sympathetic look before following Varrick out of the office. Kuvira stood and poured his cup of tea down the drain, watching the liquid slosh around in the sink before rinsing the cup and gently setting it down.

_What am I doing with this campaign?_

She shrugged on her green formal jacket and wandered out to the deck of the moving train, leaning up against the railing. The wind continued to whip her hair around until it was absolutely loose, but she kind of liked the feeling— for the past twenty years her hair had only ever been tied back. In ponytails, braids, and now this military bun. Kuvira let the strands hit her face, whip her eye lids as the wind swirled around her. Was this what an Airbender felt like?

The passing farm fields were filled with peasant workers, bending over to do backbreaking labor. Kuvira watched the masses try to grow scraps of food; sustenance that she would soon be replacing with proper nutrition as soon as she could convince the governor to agree to her army’s terms.

_What if I had Korra represent my cause? Act as a mediator?_

_No._

_I can’t use her like that._

A body leaned up against the railing next to her and watched the rice paddies pass. She glanced over and smiled at Bolin admiring this new countryside they were about to aid.

“I’m excited, I asked my Grandma Yin and she says our family has some roots in this town,” the Lavabender smiled.

Kuvira nodded, “If and when we secure a deal with the representatives, you may have some free time to explore— provided you keep up a responsible appearance. Have you talked with Varrick yet?”

“Varrick? What about him?”

“He was asking for permission to carve up some Spirit Vines.”

“I thought that was what you wanted?” Bolin asked, his face scrunched up in a confused frown.

Kuvira’s shoulders fell, “I’m not so sure.”

“Should you ask Korra for advice?”

“No!”

Bolin’s frown went from confusion to anger, “You don’t want to piss her off, Commander. If you mess with the Spirits, she’ll find out.”

_Wait till she learns about the camps, then._

Instead, the Metalbender held up a hand, “Don’t put words in my mouth. I haven’t dared to try anything that stupid. But the Avatar is… a neutral force… and no matter what it is powered off of or its purpose, any discussion of weaponry would only result in a negative relationship with her— a relationship we need to keep friendly.”

Bolin’s face smoothed out, “Just… don’t mess with that stuff, okay? Please. What we’re doing in the Earth Kingdom is good stuff! We’re accomplishing your goals!”

_But will it be enough? And… do I share the same goals as my people?_

The Lavabender sensed her tension and dismissed himself, wandering back inside. Kuvira let her eyes stare out at the ever disappearing train tracks, watching lone, burnt trees dwindle down. Her fingers twitched, reaching out and sensing the metal surrounding her. The steel tracks beneath the rolling wheels of the train— the strategically platinum shell of the locomotive and its cabins. She looked behind her; there were no guards posted outside, and the nearest windows next to the deck had their blinds drawn down (no doubt many of her soldiers trying to get some rest before they assisted the next town on the map). Kuvira took a deep breath and slid a leg over the side of the rail.

And then the other.

Hanging on, she felt her heart pound rapidly in fear— adrenaline clearing her head up. What the hell was she thinking? The problem was that she wasn’t. The Metalbender bent small handles from her armor up towards the roof of the train, slowly climbing as the locomotive moved at fifty miles an hour.

If she fell off, she would die.

Not a bad way to go.

Kuvira laid low on the roof of the train, crawling along until her body was resting in the middle of the top of a cabin. Her back lay flat against the platinum shell, and she looked up at the cloud-dotted blue sky, her hands resting on her stomach. Now, the wind was absolute power— striking against her face every single second; the cold forcing tears from the corners of her eyes.

The train bumped around a little and she let out a shaky gasp, laughing immediately after. How the hell was she going to get down? Would she wait until the train rolled into the next town and stand up— the Great Uniter atop her mighty high-speed engine? The thought momentarily amused her, but she didn’t have the ego for it.

“It’s nice up here,” a voice casually commented.

Kuvira’s head lifted a little, an eyebrow raised as she searched around. Korra was calmly walking along the roof of the train, as though the wind, nor the movement of the locomotive bothered her. Kuvira supposed it was the combination of an Earthbending stance and the agility of an Airbender, smiling in a friendly manner as the Avatar walked closer.

“Do you come here often?” Korra asked, sitting down close— but not too close— with her legs dangling over the edge of the speeding train.

“No, this is my first time. What about you?”

“Naw, I’m a stranger to these parts,” Korra grinned.

They both spluttered into chuckles and snickers, Kuvira crossing one leg over the other as she leaned back down to gaze at the passing clouds. Somehow, the wind did not seem so powerful now as it had before.

It took her about three minutes, even as perceptive as she usually was, to notice that Korra was staring at her.

“Why did you kiss me?”

Kuvira looked at the woman sitting next to her, who had not a hurt expression on her face— but one of curiosity. For a moment, the Metalbender could not see the depression ingrained in the younger girl, but some sense of hope. She quickly turned away, watching the distant mountains— her sight following the long gorges that signified river valleys where the glacier melt would create thousands of gallons of freshwater. When she’d started the campaign— those same valleys had run dry. Dry from droughts and dry from redirection of the river by selfish farmers. Not only did the redirection take away precious sediments from villages along the coast, but it had depleted many villages of a water supply. Kuvira had spent the past year carefully restoring the forests up in the mountains, and creating regulations to keep farmers from hogging the rivers to themselves.

“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few,” she remembered aloud.

“What?”

“Sorry… lost in thought.”

“Okay,” Korra sighed.

_Why **did** I kiss her?_

“We both know that wasn’t an accident,” the Avatar whispered carefully.

Kuvira felt a light pressure on her chin, pulling her face to the right. Somehow, the younger woman had meticulously scooted closer— their lips met so softly, like when your fingers dig through soft, fresh earth. A true Earthbender, always with the dirt analogies. She could feel her brain trying to resist this gesture on a logical viewpoint, and yet her lips were moving forwards against Korra’s. The conflict confused and annoyed her, and she let her fingers dig a little into the platinum metal for extra grip.

_SSSSCCCCRRRREEEEEECCCCCHHHHH!!_

The train lurched to a stop, gently forcing them apart. Kuvira looked away from the younger girl’s startling blue eyes towards the town that they’d stopped at; absolutely poor and disease ridden. She’d have her work cut out for her.

“Come on,” she sighed in a partially deflated voice, as she stood and brushed her pants off. “Let’s go help the masses.”

 

__________________________________________________________

 

“And you agree to the terms set?” she asked, her posture straight and her face expressionless.

She hated having to look like a stone statue, covered in threatening metal armor and surrounded by soldiers that looked like they belonged in one of Varrick’s science fiction movers. Kuvira hated being the Great Uniter, when she only ever wanted to be herself.

The female Governor neither nodded nor shook her head, the woman’s face wrinkled with worry lines. A thin layer of dust had permanently ingrained itself in the official’s face— despite the decent white and green clothes she was wearing— and the Metalbender couldn’t help but wonder how long she had looked that way. The woman had thin black glasses and her hair pulled back into a black bun (lined with gray stripes)— giving the impression that she was an elderly version of Zhu Li.

“I will need authorization to move my troops into and through your State, and in exchange we will provide your town with food, medicine, employment, and clean clothing.”

Kuvira moved to sign the paper, but she noticed that Governor Jiana hadn’t budged— the elderly woman’s face blank as she continued staring at the wall. The Metalbender turned back, the tip of the pen hovering over the paper and threatening to blotch the document with a big ink stain.

“Are you going to take my children and put them in one of your ‘Re-education Camps’, Great Uniter?” the wrinkle-faced official asked.

“Excuse me?”

“My ex-husband was a Firebender. My children are not… in your perfect world… ‘pure’.”

Kuvira let the pen slip out of her hands and crash against the document— ink spilling everywhere. She could see her name on the paper covered in the black liquid and closed her eyes to collect her thoughts.

“No. No, I’m not going to take them away.”

The Governor folded her arms defensively across her chest and looked out the window at her dying town, the woman’s lips pursed into a thin line.

“And what of the other villagers of my town? Those born with blue and red eyes?”

“I shall not take them.”

Now the Governor had her; both Kuvira and the elderly woman knew that much. The official let her arms fall from the defensive position to rest behind her back— her lips curling into a smile. As though she’d won, and Kuvira couldn’t help but agree.

“I would like you to rewrite the terms to fit this new promise. So long as my people are free— we will allow you to recruit our state.”

“Of course.”

“And… Great Uniter?”

“Yes, Governor Jiana?” Kuvira asked, her hand on the door.

“You’d best destroy those camps before President Raiko finds out. The United Republic would be none too happy to discover a dictatorship forming in the heart of this great nation.”

A part of Kuvira, a naïve and egotistical part of the Metalbender wanted to lash out and assert her dominance; to question the threat and quell the small amount of rebellion in the official’s tone. Instead, she let herself think of Korra’s position— of neutrality. With a deep, but silent breath, Kuvira promised to return the next day with an updated document… and left the Governor’s office.

“Well?” Bolin asked excitedly, awaiting the order to open crates and distribute food.

“One more day. Patience,” she smiled— the Great Uniter’s façade returning.

“Oh. Alright.”

“The citizens will be fine, Bolin. Don’t worry— I just have to rewrite our terms to create a more opportune bargain for the State, and then they will join us.”

“Sounds like a party!” Varrick exclaimed, jumping to his feet, “Zhu Li— time for our daily foot scrubbing!”

“Yes, sir,” the subordinate sighed.

_He treats her like shit. She should be the one running the company._

“Actually, Varrick, I need to borrow your assistant for something,” Kuvira interjected.

“What’s so important that you need to disrupt my daily foot scrubbing!? Have you seen these calluses?!” the engineer whined.

“All too often,” the Metalbender sighed. “Scrub them yourself.”

Zhu Li followed Kuvira up into her office cabin. The springtime heat was just beginning to warm up the countryside atmosphere, and she Metalbent a few windows open before sitting down.

“I need you to draw up a new contract,” she asked the assistant, “I’ll give you until 10:00am tomorrow, and you don’t have to answer to Varrick until them.”

The other woman smiled gratefully, walking over to Kuvira’s filing cabinet and taking a fresh document out, “What are we changing?”

“I need you to… draw up new contracts for all the states, actually.”

Zhu Li’s face fell, looking at the map of the Earth Kingdom, “That’s a lot of documents.”

“It’s only a small detail,” Kuvira apologized. “Well… actually a big detail… I want to remove the re-education camps from our terms.”

“Are you sure, Commander? Have you talked to your officers?”

“I don’t have to answer to any of them! This is a serious decision, and it was my inability to see basic human rights of all this Kingdom’s citizens— if my officers cannot accept that, then I will gladly have them enjoy a stay at the camps to produce an adequate argument to my judgement!”

“Even…”

Though the assistant caught herself mid-sentence, Kuvira knew what Zhu Li was going to ask: even Baatar Jr.?

“ _Every_ officer,” the Commander frowned. “10:00am tomorrow, not a minute later.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

With a formal bow, Zhu Li left the office— a pile of documents in her hand to be rewritten. Kuvira felt bad for ordering the polite assistant around, but she knew that the other woman would rather do a stack of paperwork than spend all afternoon scrubbing Varrick’s feet. Kuvira ordered a few officers to hold off on handing out supplies, and crawled into the bedroom— climbing onto her bed and letting out a groan.

“Rough day?”

She cracked an eye open, realizing that Korra was laying in the bed next to her.

“Mmhmm,” she nodded into the pillow, “I hate negotiating.”

Korra hopped off the bed with a blast of air and Metalbent Kuvira’s armor off. Normally, such a gesture would have the Commander on her feet and instantly fighting— her muscles even twitched at the sudden loss of her element. She felt the armor float through the air and rest on its stand.

“While you were out being a grown-up, I spotted a clean-looking river a few miles down away from town. Wanna go swimming?”

“You must be fully recovered if splashing around sounds more appealing than your duties,” Kuvira mumbled into the pillow.

She could detect a small sigh from Korra’s nose— and her right eye opened, glancing up to see a hurt expression on the Avatar’s face. The younger girl turned and walked out of the bedroom, and regret flooded through every nerve in Kuvira’s body.

“Wait!” she yelped, jumping up from the bed and moving out of the bedroom. Korra’s hand was on the doorknob. “Wait, please. I’m sorry… I had a bad day and I didn’t mean to sound like a prick. But… if we want to go swimming… we’ll have to sneak out…”

Korra began smiling again, “No one will spot us. Follow me.”

 

__________________________________________________________

 

 

Kuvira sat up on the sun-baked stone and wrung out her wet hair. Korra merely used a bit of Airbending to dry her own hair off— first shaking her short haircut around the way a dog does to his ears when they’re wet. Their undergarments were wet, but she supposed Korra could merely bend the water out of them— and sure enough with a flick of her wrist, the older woman suddenly had perfectly dry clothes on. She smirked;

“Of all the Bending disciplines, there’s a great practicality to water.”

Korra nodded, “You can find water in most places, and even if you can’t— with enough concentration water can be pulled out of flora or out of the atmosphere. But… but as all Bending disciplines, you can go too far.”

“Bloodbending.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Kuvira saw the Avatar shiver.

“It was the worst feeling in the world— like my insides were on fire. My limbs seizing up. Even my eyelids couldn’t blink; you feel like nothing but a puppet, and someone else is playing the strings.”

Kuvira frowned, “Can anyone Bloodbend?”

“Theoretically, yes. It’s not like Metalbending— you don’t have to be born with the skill to master it; if a Waterbender spends enough time practicing it, they’ll learn. But it’s more a question of morality. Katara once explained that it felt like her heart ripped in half when she bent someone else’s blood. A whole lifetime of Bloodbending other people… I can’t even imagine how much murder and pain…”

The Metalbender put a hand on Korra’s shoulder, “I didn’t mean to make you upset.”

“It’s okay,” Korra took a deep sigh. The two women gathered their clothes and began to walk back to the train, “I remember when I first felt a full moon. I was at the White Lotus compound, and like many of the guards— I couldn’t sleep. One of them found me and kindly took me to Katara… and the moment I saw her… I think a little bit of Aang spoke through me. I crawled up into her lap and we both began crying— upset over the memories of the Bloodbenders that she and Aang encountered.”

“Are you close with her?”

“More than that… it’s a bond that I can’t put into words…”

Kuvira smiled and pushed through a nest of vines leading back towards the trail; offering Korra a hand up as they climbed a few rocks.

“You lived in a compound?” the Metalbender asked softly.

The Avatar nodded, “I was still allowed to see my parents twice a month… but I grew up alone. I didn’t even know any kids my own age until I met Bolin.”

She felt her heart tumbling around in her chest— she knew that pain. She knew years of loneliness, even after being taken in by Suyin. Without warning, Kuvira turned and threw her arms around Korra; holding onto the younger girl like a lifeline. Muscular, but gentle arms wrapped around her and they stood there— embracing on a forest trail.

“I grew up alone, too.”

If anything, the embrace tightened— and Kuvira thought she felt lips softly press against her neck. Her eyes widened a little, but not in fear. No… not at all.

 

____________________________________________________________

 

“You can sleep in my bed, I’ll take a chair again,” she yawned, when they’d finally snuck back aboard the train.

“No, no, no— you need proper sleep,” Korra argued. “You have more negotiations tomorrow.”

She watched Korra hop into the tub and give her a grin; curling up and using her shirt as a makeshift cushion. The Metalbender rolled her eyes with a bemused smile; frowning when she felt an emptiness in the sheets— weaving her legs in between the duvets as she rested her head on a pillow.

For a moment, there was nothing.

And then there was a great deal of tension— the two women breathing in sync, in the total darkness. Kuvira’s eyes focused on the moonlit mountains outside the window, many miles away. She heard Korra’s fingers fidget and tap against the porcelain of the bathtub for a few minutes before the Avatar stood.

She slowly walked over to Kuvira’s bed and sat down on the edge. Kuvira felt fingers ghosting over her forearm, up her elbow, over her bicep, and then slowly pulling on her shoulder— that the Commander might face Korra. The younger woman crawled into the bed next to Kuvira… and they merely looked at each other.

The older woman’s fingers crept up and cupped Korra’s cheek for a few moments…

Lips met so slowly, like falling snow making its way down through the air— Kuvira’s eyes had closed even before that, and she realized that her own thumb was stroking Korra’s cheek. She took a deep breath in between kisses— attempting to quell anxiety that had been building up for the past few days, and dove back in to Korra’s mouth.

Eventually, she felt the younger girl straddling her hips with fiery eyes; pulling her tank top off like they’d been lovers for years. Korra was not wearing bindings, and Kuvira’s hands raised to cup her breasts; both of them gasping softly at the contact. She’d never felt another woman’s body before… with smooth skin, and curves _exactly_ where she wanted them to be.

Wordlessly, Kuvira pulled off her own shirt. Though she’d weaved a braid before bed, Korra quickly unraveled it— all the while kissing down the Metalbender’s neck. Sharp teeth bit down along her collarbone, and for a moment the sensation was so powerful that Kuvira couldn’t possibly fathom repercussions of this encounter. Her hands continued kneading into the soft flesh on Korra’s chest— her thumbs lightly teasing with the younger woman’s nipples until she heard a “mmmmm” from somewhere underneath her chin.

She felt warmth pooling down around her lower body, and her hips instinctively pressed against Korra’s. The Avatar kissed down Kuvira’s body until she could pull at the drawsting of Kuvira’s pants— tugging them off and pressing kisses to the older woman’s hips and thighs. The Metalbender could only stare at the ceiling with a heaving chest as she felt underwear pull off; tossed aside with a great deal of skill.

 _Have you done this before?_ she wanted to ask. _I certainly haven’t. Not… not with another woman, at least. Is this wrong?_

Before she knew it, electricity shot through her core and her back tensed up. Korra pressed her mouth in between Kuvira’s thighs with expertise and the older woman could feel an energy building up— like water against a dam.

A few fingers entered her body, and Kuvira had to grip onto the sheets for something… anything. Her heel pressed into Korra’s shoulder-blade instinctively, digging in and attempting to pull the younger girl closer. Stroke after stroke, that energy— that water against the dam— built up. Korra curled her fingers up and smiled against Kuvira’s bundle of nerves; sending the woman spiraling over the edge.

Somehow, the younger girl had crawled up and held Kuvira while she rode out this amazing bliss; too shocked to say anything as she flew through space at a million miles per hour. Her eyes closed and she buried her face into Korra’s shoulder— the Avatar merely pressing kiss after kiss to Kuvira’s cheeks and forehead. A single tear rolled down her cheek as they fell against the mattress, all instants in the world succumbing to those few quiet moments as Korra’s eyes closed and she grinned against Kuvira’s neck— falling asleep.

But the Metalbender’s eyes remained awake for the rest of the night, watching her own fingers caress Korra’s face and arms in confusion and worry.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave comments!! Please!!


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